The Never Healing Wound
by Harmony283
Summary: Seven years have gone by, and now it is time for those who remember the Dark One’s reign, who hold the memories of an altered time they never truly lived, to meet again. But already the memories are leaving their scars. male-Sheik hinted SheikXLink R&R!
1. Your Eyes

**The Never Healing Wound**

**By Harmony283**

**Summary: **Seven years have gone by, and now it is time for those who remember the Dark One's reign, who hold the memories of an altered time they never truly lived, to meet again. But already the memories are leaving their scars. The wounds that never heal.

**Pairings: **hinted Sheik Zelda, Link X Sheik

**Authors Note: **I _finally_ got my hands on Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time and I instantly fell in love with Sheik. On my older sisters advice I decided to write something with him in it—and this is what came out. _Yes_ I know Sheik is really Princess Zelda in the game, who _doesn't_ know that by now? But in this fanfic Sheik is really a 'he' and I'm going with the popular belief that Zelda just dressed up as him that one time Link saw Sheik transform into her. Also this is in Sheik's POV.

**Warning(s): **Shonen-ai and hinting of violence

* * *

"Sheik, do you understand?" I turned my face slowly away from the direction of her voice. Yes I understood. I understood perfectly well what she was saying. Didn't mean I had to _believe_ it though. She obviously didn't like whatever my silence had meant and spoke again, "Sheik it's for your own safety." I could hear the desperate tone in her voice; she always hated it when I didn't respond. Then she said the words I dreaded to hear from her, "You'd just get in the way if we let you get involved. Even Impa's worried about you. You need to stay here."

My grip tightened even more on the sheet covering me, and she noticed. Immediately her face softened, or at least I assumed it did. I wasn't looking at her. "You know." She started, "It's been almost seven years now." I knew that tone, she was trying to comfort me. But she was trying to comfort herself as well, "We'll be able to see him again!"

It didn't surprise me that she had forgotten, "But I _can't _see him, Princess." I could feel her tense at this and added on, "I can't see him, he thinks it was you, remember?" immediately the happy aura around her dulled, and I almost felt bad for saying that. But what else could I say? She should have remembered that. But she didn't.

"…He's coming here," she was trying to change the subject now, "with business dealing with expansion and other…things. The Kokiri love him and he has…grown to protect the Great Deku Sprout."

"Really?" My voice was dry, and bitter, and she could tell. I could feel her tense.

Then, out of the blue, she asked, "Do you want to see him? Do you want him to see you?" I hadn't expected her to say that, but I heard her stand up. "I can bring him here, you know I can. He can see that you're real."

I turned to face her when she said this. I couldn't see her face clearly, despite how close she was. She had taken to wearing a veil now, for whatever reason. But what she said, what she _just_ said, "You can't."

She made a noise, something between a cough and a surprised squeak, "why _not_? It's been seven years! Are you afraid he doesn't want to see you? I mean, I'll tell him you're real!"

I looked away from her again, "No. Just…don't."

"And again," I felt added pressure to the bed, Zelda was right next to me now, "Why _not_? Give me _one_ good reason why, Sheik."

I exhaled softly, "Because I don't want to see him." It would be too complicated if I did. He still wouldn't know, which times had been Zelda, which times had been _me_, or if I was even the same Sheik he knew—even _vaguely_—back then. When he was _saving the world_.

"y-you don't?" she didn't believe me. She _didn't_ believe me. "Are you sure?" she asked, suspicion clear in her voice, "He _will_ remember you."

"Me. But me as _you_. He'll remember _you, _Princess." How many times was I going to have to repeat myself?

I could tell she was angry now. "Oh no you don't. You aren't going to do this! I refuse to let you do this!" Now I was surprised. I turned to her, only to have her try and hit me. It wasn't hard; I didn't expect it to be. But she somehow thought it got her point across, even though I had no idea what that point even _was_.

I grabbed her hand when she tried to 'hit' me again and asked, "What am I doing again, Princess?"

She tugged her hand immediately away from mine, "You aren't going to do _this_—say you don't matter, how _I'm_ more important—you _aren't_. You're just as important to Link as I am to him. You even more-so! Don't you get it?"

I shook my head, "I…Princess, I don't. It would…cause too many problems if he were to see me now. He thinks you were me the entire time." It didn't seem like she wanted to hear that though, she just seemed all the more desperate to change my mind.

"But I _wasn't_, I can _prove that_! You're here aren't you?" she was getting even angrier, she sounded like she was even going to _cry_. But she was right. I _was_ here. She _could_ prove that I did, indeed, exist. There was just one thing stopping her. But before I could say it, the door opened.

"Princess Zelda," It was Impa, "you have…company."

He was here. She didn't even have to say his name. I already knew it. He was _here_. Immediately the extra weight on my bed disappeared, followed by the sound of soft shoes and skirt sliding against the stone floor, then shortly afterwards the closing of a door.

But I wasn't alone, Impa was still here. She stood by the door for a moment before walking over to me, "How are you?" she sounded like she cared, or like she was trying to care. But she didn't need to ask me. She could _see_ the answer for herself, "The same." It wasn't a question this time. I heard her move, and then she was sitting on the foot of the bed, "You know the Princess is worried about you."

I let out a sigh, "I know that…all too…well." I felt my hand grip the sheets again, "I wish she wouldn't, though."

Impa laughed at that, but there was no humor left in her voice, "You can't blame her. Despite her age, she's still so much like a child. You can't expect her to understand all the reasons behind why you don't want to see the Hero." So she had overheard our conversation. "And yes I did overhear your conversation." It was as if she didn't realize I noticed that already. "But I'm sure you noticed that." And now she was reading my mind.

She laughed again, though now it was bitter, "Don't think so lowly of me. The Hero has traveled here long, of course I would want to come and retrieve the Princess as quickly as possible."

I chanced a glance over at her, I could see her, but just barely, "Shouldn't you go with her?"

She made some sort of face before crossing her arms over her chest and saying, "Yes I should. But it's up to her whether or not she wants to bring Link here, to see you." I opened my mouth to say something but she cut me off, "And if she _does_, then you'll just have to bare with it. Do you honestly think it's my fault that this happened? Your just as much a man as Zelda is a woman. You have to face things you wouldn't want to face normally."

Just like that, _just like that_ she took away any form of defense, any excuse of _any_ kind I could have come up with and she killed it. And I didn't want her to apologize for it either. I _didn't_ want to see him, but now I probably _was_ and there really wasn't anything I could do about it.

I let out a sigh then and nodded my head, "Fine. If she comes, and he comes then…I'll deal with it." I looked up at the ceiling, even though I couldn't _really_ see it. "But," I knew I caught Impa's attention with that, "it will get…complicated."

"Maybe." She said almost offhandedly, "But then things are already complicated enough, aren't they?" now she was staring at me, my face, and I knew what she was talking about. Time had been distorted, for however long the Dark One had ruled, for however long it took the Hero to bring him to his knees…

It was like a knot. A knot in time that couldn't come loose. It was affecting us now, because it was still _time_. Time spent, at least, in our memories. Those memories would come back alive even more if I saw him again. If _we_ saw him again. Any of us, all of us, if we saw them those memories could come alive.

But how could we have memories of a time we didn't live? Of a time that _didn't happen_. It wouldn't happen now, after seven years, even though this is the day when most of it started. When he woke up from the seven year sleep. Would he try to wield the Master Sword? Would he—

"Even for a Sheikah you think too much." Impa murmured from next to me, "let information flow, this isn't that hard to figure out. You'll just see him," she hesitated, "not…_see_ him, not with your _eyes_ I mean."

I knew what she meant and shook my head, looking back at her, "What about the memories?"

Immediately a barrier went up around her, "What of them? They're just memories."

"Just memories." I echoed, and suddenly I felt too afraid to say much more. Maybe it was the sudden chill I got from just that one word, or maybe it was the fact I could hear footsteps literally _running_ towards the room, I didn't know. But immediately Impa was up and—

The door was broken down and—

"Impa it's just _me_!" Princess Zelda called out, from somewhere out in the hall, "Link, do you remember…Impa?"

My chest constricted and suddenly I really _did_ feel cold. Not just because of _him_ being right outside the door, but because of the fact that Impa still hadn't let her guard down. I wasn't going to panic, though. Yes I wouldn't be able to do anything. I was too weak to, even Princess Zelda could see that. It would only be Impa and Li—the Hero—protecting the Princess.

Normally that wouldn't have bothered me, but I doubted he used a sword on an everyday basis, even _if_ he decided to really train for an evil that simply _wouldn't come_. Another horrifying chill ran down my spine as I heard the sound of a gasp, I knew who it was coming from. I didn't even have to turn my face, not that I could. That would raise too many questions. Questions I _didn't_ want to answer.

"Sh-Sheik?!" his familiar voice echoed off the stone walls of the small room. He was surprised, shocked. I could picture him clearly in my head, clad in green, opening and closing his mouth not being able to come up with something to say.

"Yes," instead Zelda spoke up for him, "it's…Sheik."

For a moment the room was dead silent, no words exchanged, no one even _moved_. That is, until Impa quickly shut the door. This seemed to trigger a reaction in the Hero because he spoke again, "H-How? Z-Zelda you're standing…right here?" He really did think Zelda had been me the entire time, and to say it didn't hurt would be an understatement. Because it did, it _did_ hurt.

"Because he _is_ real." Zelda spoke again, sounding too calm for her own good, "he's real, he's there and—"

And suddenly I was being hugged. I hadn't even heard him come forward. He was just _there_, hugging me. Saying loudly, "No way, no _way_! You _are _real!" he sounded like a little kid—it was embarrassing. Or at least it was on my part. He didn't seem to even care. He just kept chanting, "I was right, I was right." Until suddenly he stopped and pulled away, I thought he was going to ask _why_, but he didn't.

He didn't ask the why I expected him to. Instead he asked, "Why are you in a place like this though?"

The old silence came back, like a deadweight that no one wanted but that was _there_. It was long, it was gruesome and Impa was still standing by the doorway, tense and waiting for something to happen. But it seemed she had been listening, she broke the silence easily saying, "He's here because he needs to be here."

"But _why_ does he need to be here?" he was acting so much like a little kid, asking so many questions, but he seemed more…_serious_ about it than he would have before. Than he would have when I met him before in my memories.

Zelda easily filled that in, though, with a cheerful, "Because he wanted to see you!"

I would have fallen over—or maybe even _laughed_—at that. But I didn't, not just because she was probably giving me a death glare right now, but because he was so close and he was nearly _radiating_ with happiness.

Then I felt the words forming on my own, "Why are you here?" I asked, it was slow, much slower than it needed to be. But he didn't waver, he didn't wonder, he didn't even seem to notice my tone.

"Because the Deku tree sent me. He's growing quickly now, but he wanted me to give you," he was talking to Princess Zelda now, "something. The kikori say hello too." I highly doubt they knew much about Princess Zelda except for the fact that she was a Princess. They couldn't even leave that forest, how _could_ they know that much.

…And how could he stand it? Being cooped up in a place like that for seven years? He never once came by the Castle—not that they would've let him but…

The memories. It would be going against the memories. It would confuse them even more. The memories of what should be happening now, what _is_ happening now, in an altered dimension where the Dark One rules.

Suddenly Zelda let out a little squeal, "It's…it's so _cute_!" her reaction surprised me, and I had the sudden urge to turn and see what she was looking at. But he would see my face, and he would ask. I didn't want him to ask but—

But then Zelda gasped, "Watch out Sheik!" and suddenly _something_, something _furry_ was trying to undo the cloth that hid my face. I immediately grabbed it, or tried to, but it jumped off my shoulder and onto the bedcovers, burying underneath them and crawling over one of my legs.

It had sharp claws. I winced as said claws dug into my shin, the material of my outfit—no matter how heat and water resistant it was—was too thin to really protect me, it almost felt like I was bleeding.

I felt someone lean over me, and suddenly the animal hissed and jumped out at whoever tried to grab it. Judging from the loud 'whump' sound, along with the bitten back curse, I could tell that _he_ had tried to grab it, and had fallen on the floor because of it. But now the animal was climbing it's way up my shoulder, it was long too. Or at least it's tail was long. It wrapped it's way around my neck and, to my surprise,_ stayed_ there.

Again Zelda made some sort of squealing noise, "Aww! It likes you, Sheik!" she started to giggle, "what is it, Link?"

"It's a pipe fox." He answered back, sounding like he was in pain, "It kept…biting me on the way here. I'm surprised it likes you." Suddenly he was up and sitting on the bed next to me. He eyed me for a moment before saying, "Are you going to just _not_ look at me when I'm here? What's wrong?" He didn't want me to answer that, or he knew I wouldn't answer that. I thought he would continue talking, or try to grab this…animal, pipe fox, whatever it was, again. But the only thing he wound up grabbing was my chin. He knew I wasn't expecting that, and he used it to his advantage.

In one quick motion he turned my head to face him. He was close enough that I could see him flinch, could see his eyes widen at what he saw.

"Your eyes," he asked softly, "What happened to your eyes?"

* * *

A **pipe fox** is basically just a small very long fox (if you've read **xxxHolic**, that's basically what the pipe fox in this looks like)

And _yes_ the cliffhanger was intentional. I don't know if I'll start up writing this on a regular basis, I have my other fanfic (**Linebeck's Agreement**) to keep track of, so any chances of this being continued is left up to the reviewers. So review if you liked it, have CC, etc, it's the only way I know to update.

-Harmony283


	2. Lying

**I know, I know, it's been a while since I updated the first 'chapter' (or should it be a prolog?) of this fanfic, and since it seems that people wanted me to continue it, so I am. The HUGE thing I'll warn about in this chapter is that **_**yes**_** the beginning's in third person, and it's not taking place anywhere **_**near**_** the castle in Hyrule (though, yes, I do have a part near the end that leaves off where the last chapter ended, but I don't like it that much). But anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter! **

**And of course, thanks so much to everyone who wanted me to continue this fanfic. **

**-- **

"It's impossible." He threw the cards down in disgust, "Absolutely _impossible_." He ran a hand through his grease ridden hair before rubbing tiredly at his obsidian eyes, which had deep bags beginning to form under them, "I _give up_."

"Really?" a woman dressed in a leather jumpsuit with a dirtied tabard hanging loosely around her head asked as she leaned down to give him a cup full of some unknown liquid, "It can't be _that_ hard. Or maybe you just aren't used to it."

"How can I _not_ be used to it?" The man spat, taking the cup and chugging down the contents without a second glance, "It's too stressful."

"Then maybe you should stop?" She suggested, light humor apparent in her voice as she watched the man reach out and shuffle the deck once more, "If it stresses you so much then even _you_ won't be able to fight."

"An' who's to say—shit!" the cards went splaying out into a huge messy pile at his feet, "Damnit! I can't even _shuffle_ right today!"

"It's why I said you should stop." The masked woman murmured, picking up the cup before the man could knock it over, placing it on a high shelf above their heads before turning back to the man, "If there's one thing I've figured out about you Hylian's it's that you don't have a large attention span."

"But the game's _hard_! I mean, I keep _losing_! An' you keep _watchin'_ me!" The man protested, slamming his hand down on the ground with a dull thud.

"I'm watching you to make sure you _play it right_." The woman replied, ignoring the sign of hostility in the man's movement as she bent over and helped him gather the cards again, "After all, another thing I've noticed is your facility to _cheat_."

"But how the hell can I _not_ cheat?! I've never played the damned game before where cheating _didn't _come into play." The man hit the ground again, his temple pulsing, "It's just too damned _hard_. I always pick out crappy cards!"

"No you don't," the woman tried to soothe, though her tone lacked any pretense of caring, "You just don't see the inevitable. The cards you need," she began to shuffle the deck again, "Are most often the ones already set out."

"So says you," the man muttered, watching intently as she sat in Seiza before setting up the cards again, "I'm sure I'll win now that _you_ set them up."

"Maybe." The woman murmured, finishing laying out the cards before touching the lone charm around her neck, "but I have no luck, despite the Charm of the Three Goddesses."

"You still keep that necklace thing _around_?" The obsidian eyed man asked in disbelief as he scanned over each card, "I mean, _yeah_ that kid was nice enough to give it to you—but did you see what happened after she gave it _up_?" He reached out tentatively and placed one card, the two of spades, overtop another, the five of hearts, before studying the layout once more.

"Yes I remember," the cloaked woman squeezed the stone talisman tightly before releasing it, "I don't regret taking it, though. It didn't belong to her."

"But it doesn't belong to _you_ either, does it?" The man asked, never looking up from the cards, "So you could end up just like her."

"I won't," the woman whispered out, watching the man's hand as he reached up to the small stack of cards to the left and turned the top three over, "I didn't steal it, after all. She did. That's different."

"Sure it is," the man eyed the three cards he had just turned over before picking up the first card, the Ace of Spades, and moving it to the top right above the lined up cards, "She was just so damned _scared_ of it that she practically _threw it_ at you."

"She still gave it to me," the woman's eyes flickered to one of the cards lying face up, the garb coving her mouth twitched slightly, obviously from her trying to hide a perceptive, but irritated, smile, "And as I said before, most cards you need are _right in front of you_."

The man took a quick glance down at the cards laid out, hearing the knowing tint in the woman's voice, before quickly grabbing one card, this time an eight of diamonds, and placing it over the nine of clubs. "Y'know, you should just play this _instead_ of me." The man muttered out, taking the nine and the eight and placing it over the ten of hearts, "I don't think I like this game—an' _you_ seem ta be gettin' a kick outta watchin' me."

"If you mean that it's amusing," the woman tilted her head to the side, "then yes it is _very_ amusing. Much more than anything else I could be doing, but, sadly, there _are_ things I must be doing," she turned her gaze away from him and the game to look outside the small window cut out from the clay wall that sat to their left, "especially if we wish to arrive at the signaled time and place."

The man momentarily forgot about his game and asked, "What the hell do we need to do again?" he followed her gaze easily to the window, "It doesn't look like the nice weather's gonna hold up. I've already heard of floods near Hylia Lake, an' we need to go through there ta get where we need to go, right?"

"That's correct," the woman turned her gaze back to the cards on the floor, "I have…a _friend_ I wish to speak with. You could say he's a doctor of sorts, _very_ eccentric. Uses unconventional means for most of his remedies, most of which actually _work_ better than a regular Potion."

The man let out a laugh, "Bet the fairies 'r mad."

"Oh, his potions aren't _that_ good. Nothing can ever be that good, unless the fairy willingly gives up its powers." The garbed woman's voice suddenly turned bland, "But you have heard of him," the man nodded his head, "Good. I need to speak with him about something, and then we need to hurry to Hyrule Town."

The man almost immediately stiffened, "I thought you said we weren't _goin'_ that far!"

"We aren't. Or at least, _you_ aren't," her eyes lowered to the cards, watching as the man's hands reached out once more to place one card on another, "since you have such a hate for the government there I doubt you'd fit in without looking at least a _little_ suspicious. So,"

"So?" The man edged on, not even waiting for her to complete her sentence.

"So," the woman repeated, her eyes meeting his own in a steady gaze, "there's always a back way, which _yes_ we will take for convenience sake."

"Convenience sake, eh?" the man relaxed slightly, "but aren't the back way's usually tougher an' generally hard ta get through?"

"Yes," the woman stared down at her lap, gripping the stone talisman around her neck, "but it's better than trying to get over the gate after it rises." At the man's startled look the fabric hiding her lips twitched, "I am a _shadow_, part of the _shadow_ tribe. Do you honestly think that I would just _walk _right through the gate in broad daylight?"

"Obviously." The man said with a slight shrug of his shoulders, "I mean…tha's the easiest way ta blend in."

"Yes but are we trying to blend in?" The man shook his head, "Then there's no need to go through that way. As you said, you don't want anything to do with that town anyway, so it would be better for you as well."

"True that," the man nodded his head before looking back down at the cards laid out in front of him, "But why're you going there again?"

Again the cloth around the woman's "I come with a request."

The man looked up at the woman again, interest clear in his eyes, "Request? What _kind_ of request?"

"Just a mission." the cloth hiding the woman's face twitched slightly in an attempted smile, "a…_delivery _of sorts. My good friend has more information on it. I'm sure you'd be interested in helping me, though."

"Will I?" The man questioned mordantly, taking the seven of hearts and placing it on the eight, before grabbing the six of clubs and placing it over top, "What can _I_ do for you?"

"Many things," the female shadow stated, her eyes narrowing again as she watched the man's hand move quickly to pick up three more cards in the stack at the upper left, "your sailing skills are second to none, but I more prefer your connections."

"So the Shadow Ninja," the woman scowled at the loose title, "wants more information than she can already get?" the man straightened out as he placed the Ace of Diamonds on the upper right next to the Spades, "and she wants to enlist my services?" she mutely nodded her head, "well then, Mr. T. L Rutherford at your service." He flashed her a grin before quickly adding on, "but as a safety measure I have to _enlist_ in some of your abilities as well."

The woman didn't hesitate at all when answering, "And what is it that you wish?"

The man's grin turned lazy as he suddenly flipped over both Aces and gathered the cards into a heap, "I don't want to go anywhere near Castle Town, but I'm going to have to since I'm with you and I know a few people that'd get us out if we ever got ourselves in a bind," the woman waited patiently for him to continue, but he simply began shuffling the deck, "So the first place I wanna visit is Kokoriko Village—or rather, I want to visit a young woman there. She has something for me."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah, really. But in order to get it from her I need one thing." The woman nodded her head for him to continue, "It's something you probably have on hand with you anyway, and even if ya don't you probably know where it is so," the cards he had been shuffling splayed out once more on the ground between them, and his face twisted in annoyance, "I don't think I need to tell you now. So I won't. Instead I'll ask you this: What's your name?"

The woman's eyes flashed, and for the first time in the dim light of the small clay building the obsidian eyed man could see their color: a deep coffee brown outlining molten bullion irises, it both unnerved him as well as surprised him with the ease at which the woman kept his gaze, "Jackal. Call me Jackal. And I'll call you Rutherford."

--

(Sheik's POV)

A flash of surprise, then pain, then slowly anger, flickered over the azure pools of his eyes. They wouldn't leave mine, they were analyzing them, trying to find out exactly what was wrong. "Your eyes," He repeated almost pathetically, "What…? When…?"

I remotely remember Zelda coming up behind Link, placing a hand on his shoulder and slowly leading him away. He went willingly, but he kept glancing at my face. He looked so pale. And I had even said a word.

"Link," Zelda whispered, or at least _tried_ to whisper, "now isn't—"

"Yes it is." Link replied back, louder than she obviously wanted. She made a 'shh' noise, but Link just continued, "Why…Why are your eyes like that." He was looking at me again, and I looked away. "Don't look away from me." His voice sounded so much sadder than it had when he arrived, "How did it happen?"

"He…" it was easy to hear the hesitant tone in Zelda's voice, "He got in an…_accident_." I would've laughed again—no humor intended—at her word choice. Yes an _accident_. Call it an accident.

"Accident? What kind of accident?" He sounded annoyed now, almost angry. I wanted to smile at that, but it wouldn't do any of us any good. There was no need to smile in a situation like this.

And Impa still hadn't left her position by the door. She was still tense, like she expected something to happen.

"…a mission." I caught the end of Zelda's sentence, "He's been going on so many dangerous ones recently…" she trailed off; I could feel her looking at me now. She almost looked sorry, sorry that in a way she was really lying to him. To the Hero of Time. To the person who, in an altered time line, saved the world from the Dark One.

"Yeah but…but…!" He sounded desperate now, like he was catching onto Zelda's lie, even though he probably wasn't, "How could—"

"I wasn't there." Zelda snapped before he could even complete his sentence, "Besides, we didn't come here to talk…about _that_."

I vaguely felt the pipe fox, which had stayed silently draped around my neck, shift a little and…purr. It wasn't like a regular purr, though, it was almost musical. It reminded me of the highest pitch on my harp. It butted it's head under my chin, seemingly demanding something. I brought my fingers up to it's head, it was so small compared to me, and began to stroke it's forehead. That made it purr even louder, and I could feel his, Zelda's, and Impa's eyes on me.

I looked up and almost immediately I felt added pressure to the bed. I immediately recognized it as Zelda. She reached over and held out her hand—she was close enough now that I could see that one movement. But the pipe fox didn't even go near her. Instead it coiled up even tighter around my neck, rubbing it's head once more under my chin.

Zelda made another sort of cooing noise before saying softly, "I didn't know you were so good with animals. O-Or that they liked you so much." I just shrugged my shoulders at that. The only animal I had ever really _been_ around was a horse, and they were naturally used to people.

"I wouldn't call a pipe fox a regular animal." He piped up, sitting down on the bed as well. His eyes held mine for a moment, even though from where he was sitting they were just a blue blur against pale skin and green clothing. He tore his eyes away from mine a second later and focused on, I assumed, the pipe fox around my neck, "this pipe fox is…well, y'know they're good luck, right?"

Zelda and I both nodded our heads.

"Right," he continued, "They give good luck to whoever's around them. But they're really…picky. This pipe fox used to only like the Deku Tree Sprout. It'd hide either behind him, or somewhere in the Old Deku Tree." He sounded like he was trailing off into some warm but foreign memory, "I didn't expect it to even like me when the Deku Tree asked me to take it with me. But it seems to like you more." He was looking at me again, and it unnerved me. How could he look at someone so gently? Him someone with more power than he'd ever admit he ha—

Suddenly my eyes started stinging. Zelda noticed first and immediately got up, "Bandages!" She said, her voice sounding panicked, "Where are—"

"Found 'em!" I jumped when his face came into clear view. He was sitting on the bed fully now, some fresh bandages in his hands, "These are the ones right?" He didn't even look at the Princess when he said that, but I could faintly see her nod. "Okay then how do we—"

"I-I'll do it." I reached out slowly and grabbed the bandages from his hands, beginning to wrap them around my eyes. I knew he was watching my every movement, and it worried me that he hadn't put up more than a fight when I took them from him. Not that I could worry about _that_ now. I had kept my eyes open for too long. Impa warned me against it, but I hadn't listened.

Now they would take longer to heal.

I somehow managed to get the bandages securely wrapped three times before I felt someone—Zelda, most likely—sit down beside me and secure the bandages there. I silently nodded my head at her, and I felt her shift, she probably smiled, or nodded her head as well.

"It seems like it's time for Sheik to rest." Impa finally spoke up from the doorway, "You might as well go talk in more…private quarters." Immediately any weight other than mine had been lifted from the bed, but I could still feel two sets of eyes on me.

A few moments later and I heard the shuffling of skirt against stone, and heavy footsteps leading away from my room. They were leaving. A few minutes later and I couldn't even hear his footsteps, not a single echo on the walls.

I felt alone.

"Sheik." I tensed immediately when I heard the stern, almost reprimanding, tone in Impa's voice. She was still by the doorway, she hadn't moved, but she was going to have to leave. She had to watch Zelda, "_Sheik_." I turned my head slowly to look in her direction, even though all I could see was darkness. She let out a loud sigh and shifted, "I understand how hard it must be without your sight. It will only get worse if you continue on this way." She lowered her voice as she moved closer, "Zelda is right when she says you won't be able to go on any missions."

I opened my mouth to protest that but she immediately cut me off, "At least not until you learn to see without sight." I shut my mouth slowly at that and I _knew_ she was smiling, or smirking, or some mixture of the two, "You understand it's possible, don't you?" I didn't respond but she seemed to know what I was going to say regardless. "Good. We'll start…after supper, since it's still early. Meanwhile you try and rest. _Don't_ remove those bandages." With that last threat she disappeared swiftly out of my room, whether by teleportation, or by simply walking in the trained silent manner I didn't know. Not that it mattered. I was alone.

Alone except for the pipe fox, nuzzling against my neck, wanting me to pet it again. I raised my fingers and ran them slowly over it's long body, or how much I could reach of it, and it hummed in delight, the sound, just like music, echoing off the stone walls. "They say you bring good luck," I murmured, though I wasn't sure it even understood me, "I hope you make my eyes get better." I turned my head towards the door even though I knew I couldn't see it no matter how hard I tried, "After all I have a feeling I'll be needing them soon."

I let a small shiver run down my spine as those words slowly sunk in. I wanted my saying them to feel more like an educated truth, but it felt more like the truth set in stone—the kind you already knew of as a passing time, not as a time yet to come. _'But it shouldn't surprise me,'_ A small voice formed in the back of my mind, _'If this knot in time hadn't been created then this wouldn't have happened. But it _did_, and now that it's here and refusing to be undone maybe this is just a side effect.' _

One I really didn't want.

The pipefox let out another musical chortle, rubbing its head against my fingers before sliding away, down my body until it was successfully hidden underneath the thick blankets. It purred softly again before I felt its' breathing, slow and unhurried, even out to a fixed rate of one who was falling deeper and deeper into the catacombs of slumber. It let out a high pitched squeak that I took for a yawn before somehow wrapping it's way closer to my leg, and finally, freezing it's movement altogether.

As I had once heard before, yawns were contagious. That statement was proved factual when shortly after the Pipe-fox situated itself I found myself yawning as well, and leaning back against the mattress provided. I quickly checked my bandages once more, to make sure they were tight enough, before lying my head slowly back on the pillow Impa had given me. I couldn't tell exactly when I had fallen asleep, it was too hard to tell in the darkness behind the bandages, but all I knew was that my dreams were dreamless. Black abyss's that, in an jarring sort of way, was somehow comfortable in all its vast loneliness.

I didn't think I would appreciate loneliness so much.

--

**And this is the end of Chapter Two. Have to say I really like the way it turned out, too. Oh yes, Rutherford is playing Solitaire in the beginning (and yes his name comes from an anime: can you guess which one?) Jackal's name also comes from somewhere else, but I don't think anyone'll be able to guess where…**

**And of course Reviews told me to update this (and wireless internet made it possible -is still on vacation-), and they're the only way that'll tell me you want an update: So PLEASE REVIEW! They're preferred over Faving and Alerting this fic (though that's always nice as well) CC and questions are also welcomed, so send it via review!**

**-Till the next chapter (?)**

**-Harmony283 **


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